New York • When he wanted to interview a source in Connecticut for a recent "World News" story on technology, ABC reporter Pierre Thomas didn't even leave the office. ABC's cameras showed him sitting in front of a computer screen, talking to Michael Coppolla through Skype.

The video phone service has become an important tool for television news organizations over the past several months. Producers say it enables them to reach many more people for interviews. It also saves money, although its current users insist Skype won't become a crutch.

Skype encourages news organizations to use the service, doesn't charge for it and offers detailed advice on how to best take advantage of the technology. The company asks networks to display its logo or verbally identify Skype.

"It really has changed the way we do business," said Tom Costello, a Washington-based NBC News reporter.

While reporting on a bad egg outbreak a week ago, Costello found an elderly woman in a remote section of Pennsylvania who has lingering stomach problems from a salmonella poisoning five years ago. There was no way to reach her in time with a camera crew for "Nightly News," but Costello was surprised to find she regularly used Skype, and that's how they did the interview.

All three broadcast network newscasts use Skype to a certain extent. Fox News Channel interviews people under the banner "Skype gripe." Barbara Walters talked about her heart surgery on "The View" by way of Skype. The "Today" show keeps connected with viewers through Skype.

"This opens the entire country up for us to get to instantaneously," said Jon Banner, "World News" executive producer. "It is a terrific advance and we would be foolish not to take advantage of any technical advance that's out there."

A downside is a degradation in video quality. The Skype picture for Thomas' interview was fuzzy, and it sometimes seemed interview subject Coppolla's voice wasn't in sync with his moving mouth. It wasn't the high-definition video to which viewers are accustomed.

That's why Skype, while a great tool, is best used in an emergency, said Rick Kaplan, executive producer of the "CBS Evening News."

Not everyone believes Skype's spread is the best idea for news organizations. Steven Rosenbaum, a former TV producer who runs a video sharing website, questioned whether Skype is just a way to cut corners.

"This hastens the demise of the journalism part of TV journalism," Rosenbaum said. "You're making the reporting part of the journalism perfunctory."